1
00:00:00,716 --> 00:00:02,346
Good evening, everyone.

2
00:00:03,427 --> 00:00:04,877
Sorry to cut the festivities short.

3
00:00:04,877 --> 00:00:07,148
I know we all love to visit around here.

4
00:00:09,048 --> 00:00:14,490
We are going to start this evening's Bible study with a word of prayer, and then we'll get
into the study.

5
00:00:14,490 --> 00:00:16,150
So if would please bow with me.

6
00:00:16,691 --> 00:00:26,173
Dear Lord, Almighty God, we come to thee prayer at this time wanting to thank you and
observe the fact that you are almighty, you are all-knowing, you are all-present, and we

7
00:00:26,173 --> 00:00:28,234
bow our heads before you now.

8
00:00:28,758 --> 00:00:33,100
Lord God, can never thank You enough for the many blessings that You've bestowed upon us.

9
00:00:33,100 --> 00:00:37,822
Every moment in life is chance to obey You, serve You, and love You.

10
00:00:37,862 --> 00:00:43,584
And we only know that love because You first loved us enough to send Your Son to die on
the cross for our sins.

11
00:00:43,684 --> 00:00:49,677
Lord God, please continue to guide and direct us through Your Word so that we can obey You
to the best of our abilities.

12
00:00:49,677 --> 00:00:53,569
We want nothing more than to have a home in Heaven with You for all eternity.

13
00:00:53,569 --> 00:00:56,310
And so we pray to the angels, Jesus' name, amen.

14
00:00:57,614 --> 00:01:00,554
Alright, if you would please go ahead and grab your Bibles.

15
00:01:00,594 --> 00:01:05,334
And tonight we are going to be studying from Matthew chapter 24.

16
00:01:05,814 --> 00:01:13,614
Following the Bible class, the devotional at the proper time will be done by our brother
Jordan Bohannon.

17
00:01:13,734 --> 00:01:17,814
He'll be conducting the devotional tonight.

18
00:01:17,814 --> 00:01:18,454
There he is.

19
00:01:18,454 --> 00:01:20,314
I didn't even see him.

20
00:01:23,138 --> 00:01:28,303
So tonight we have, I was kind of told to do this about three hours beforehand.

21
00:01:28,885 --> 00:01:33,669
So I chose a chapter of the Bible that I felt is relevant today's time.

22
00:01:33,870 --> 00:01:35,372
And we're going to go through that.

23
00:01:35,372 --> 00:01:41,698
uh Have you ever heard anyone say that the signs of the times are happening now?

24
00:01:41,759 --> 00:01:44,682
Maybe we've seen in movies how.

25
00:01:44,718 --> 00:01:51,038
You have the long-bearded man with the cardboard sign saying, end is near, things like
that.

26
00:01:51,038 --> 00:01:52,898
A little cliche, I know.

27
00:01:52,898 --> 00:02:01,058
But do you know that people are believing right now that we're living in the last days and
the fact that Matthew chapter 24 is what proves it?

28
00:02:01,058 --> 00:02:03,978
So tonight we're gonna go over Matthew chapter 24.

29
00:02:04,258 --> 00:02:12,698
We're gonna talk about what it refers to in reference to the context, both historical,
biblical, and who's talking.

30
00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:20,151
So first off, let me ask, what comes to your mind when you hear the word rapture or
tribulation?

31
00:02:24,300 --> 00:02:25,195
What is it?

32
00:02:27,311 --> 00:02:28,891
the Baptist Church.

33
00:02:31,011 --> 00:02:32,611
He's not wrong.

34
00:02:33,531 --> 00:02:39,931
Many denominations today interpret Matthew 24 as a blueprint for the end of the world, and
that's why we're going to look at it.

35
00:02:39,931 --> 00:02:50,271
They claim that it outlines events like the rapture, which we don't read about in the
scripture, and a future great tribulation or a second coming of Christ.

36
00:02:50,271 --> 00:02:56,191
They believe these events are yet to occur and that the chapter speaks of a final global
judgment.

37
00:02:57,524 --> 00:03:02,475
These ideas are largely rooted in a doctrine that we call premillennialism.

38
00:03:02,475 --> 00:03:11,738
Now if you're students from the Memphis School of Preaching, at some point, if you haven't
already, you'll go through a class called premillennialism, and it is a long but wonderful

39
00:03:11,738 --> 00:03:12,598
class.

40
00:03:12,598 --> 00:03:16,640
Premillennialism, who can tell me what the basic definition for that is?

41
00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:18,550
Who's ever heard of premillennialism before?

42
00:03:18,550 --> 00:03:20,220
It's a big word.

43
00:03:20,341 --> 00:03:22,801
Okay, of course, all the students say yeah.

44
00:03:24,984 --> 00:03:35,659
Premillennialism is the belief that Jesus will return to earth before, or pre, a literal
1,000-year reign or a millennium on David's throne in Jerusalem.

45
00:03:35,659 --> 00:03:39,501
It's just talking about a physical earthly throne.

46
00:03:39,501 --> 00:03:48,125
It teaches that the world will go through a seven-year great tribulation, after which
Christ will return to set up again His physical kingdom.

47
00:03:48,125 --> 00:03:54,928
However, these interpretations often ignore the historical context and the contextual
clues within the chapter itself.

48
00:03:54,928 --> 00:03:59,488
In this study tonight, we're going to carefully walk through the text.

49
00:03:59,488 --> 00:04:04,548
We may or may not get through all the text this evening, but we're going to see what Jesus
was really talking about.

50
00:04:04,548 --> 00:04:13,868
Rather than a far-off apocalypse, we'll uncover how Jesus is warning his disciples of the
upcoming fall of Jerusalem that we see happen in AD 70.

51
00:04:13,868 --> 00:04:19,368
This was a fulfillment of prophecy and not a speculation about the end of the world.

52
00:04:19,568 --> 00:04:24,988
By the end of this class, I'm hoping that going through Matthew chapter 24 will better
equip you

53
00:04:24,988 --> 00:04:29,873
to answer questions in regards to this whenever you're talking to someone in the future.

54
00:04:29,894 --> 00:04:33,017
So first we're going to talk about the context and setting.

55
00:04:33,458 --> 00:04:39,928
So first we're going to read Matthew chapter 24 and we're going to go to verses 1 through
3.

56
00:04:40,108 --> 00:04:46,083
Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and his disciples came up to show him
the buildings of the temple.

57
00:04:46,083 --> 00:04:49,487
And Jesus said to them, do you not see all these things?

58
00:04:49,487 --> 00:04:56,092
Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be
thrown down.

59
00:04:56,112 --> 00:05:02,839
Now as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, tell us
when will these things be?

60
00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:05,981
And what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?

61
00:05:05,981 --> 00:05:07,302
m

62
00:05:07,822 --> 00:05:12,822
Jesus just left the temple after a series of rebukes directed at the scribes and
Pharisees.

63
00:05:12,822 --> 00:05:16,902
We read about that just one chapter prior in Matthew chapter 23.

64
00:05:16,902 --> 00:05:25,342
Now I'd like for someone else to read Matthew chapter 23 verses 36 through 39 where we can
see him closing this.

65
00:05:27,202 --> 00:05:28,842
If I can get a volunteer reader.

66
00:05:40,962 --> 00:05:45,780
gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under

67
00:05:48,142 --> 00:05:51,128
see your house is left to you desolate.

68
00:05:51,128 --> 00:05:56,818
For I say to you, you shall see me no more till you say, blessed is he who comes

69
00:05:58,070 --> 00:06:04,693
Alright, so this closes with Jesus mourning over Jerusalem and declaring the house or the
temple completely desolate.

70
00:06:04,693 --> 00:06:08,235
Not one stone turned upon the other, completely dismantled.

71
00:06:08,235 --> 00:06:13,197
And we know by historical context that the Romans picked every bit of gold under there.

72
00:06:13,197 --> 00:06:17,299
They knew that the stones were inlaid all throughout with gold.

73
00:06:17,299 --> 00:06:21,290
So, of course, they'd want to get at the ones on the underside of the bricks.

74
00:06:21,290 --> 00:06:23,382
There would have been plenty of reason for them to do.

75
00:06:23,382 --> 00:06:28,144
But in verse three of chapter 24, we see the disciples ask three specific questions.

76
00:06:28,144 --> 00:06:31,948
in response to Jesus' prediction that the temple would be destroyed.

77
00:06:31,948 --> 00:06:35,910
The first question we read is, when shall these things be?

78
00:06:36,171 --> 00:06:38,653
When is this going to happen, they're asking Christ.

79
00:06:38,653 --> 00:06:42,116
Number two, what will be the sign of thy coming?

80
00:06:42,297 --> 00:06:46,540
And then question number three, end of the end of the world?

81
00:06:46,540 --> 00:06:52,905
This is the Greek aenon, meaning age, not cosmos, meaning the end of the physical world.

82
00:06:53,102 --> 00:07:00,162
The first question clearly refers to the temple's destruction, and Jesus addresses that in
verses 4 through 35.

83
00:07:00,922 --> 00:07:11,902
But what we see here is a warning to the disciples, not signs of the end of the world, as
we'll read through verse 4 through 14.

84
00:07:11,922 --> 00:07:16,242
So I'm going to go ahead and read chapter 24, verses 4 through 14.

85
00:07:18,054 --> 00:07:29,273
Jesus answered and said unto them this is a response to their three questions Take heed
that no one deceives you for many will come in my name saying that I am the Christ

86
00:07:29,398 --> 00:07:30,999
and will deceive many.

87
00:07:30,999 --> 00:07:35,401
And you will hear rumors of wars and rumors of wars.

88
00:07:35,401 --> 00:07:40,563
See that you are not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not
yet.

89
00:07:40,643 --> 00:07:48,607
For a nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be
famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

90
00:07:48,607 --> 00:07:51,168
All these are the beginnings of sorrow.

91
00:07:51,228 --> 00:07:57,511
Then they will deliver you up to a tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all
nations for my name's sake.

92
00:07:57,551 --> 00:07:59,452
And then many will be offended.

93
00:07:59,452 --> 00:08:01,933
will betray one another and will hate one another.

94
00:08:01,933 --> 00:08:05,434
Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

95
00:08:05,434 --> 00:08:09,556
And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

96
00:08:09,556 --> 00:08:12,417
But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

97
00:08:12,417 --> 00:08:17,939
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the
nations.

98
00:08:17,939 --> 00:08:24,942
And then the end will come." Take a quick look at verse 4 specifically.

99
00:08:24,994 --> 00:08:30,516
He says, starting off, take heed, be careful that no man deceive you.

100
00:08:30,516 --> 00:08:33,076
Don't be deceived by the things that you see.

101
00:08:33,076 --> 00:08:35,237
This is suggesting confusion.

102
00:08:35,257 --> 00:08:38,618
This is suggesting that there's false teachings going around.

103
00:08:39,278 --> 00:08:43,359
Not every church out there on the street that you see is teaching truth.

104
00:08:43,459 --> 00:08:44,599
How can they be?

105
00:08:44,599 --> 00:08:47,760
We teach one thing, they teach something in opposition.

106
00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:52,281
Common sense and logic would tell you one has to be correct and one has to be wrong,
doesn't it?

107
00:08:52,281 --> 00:08:54,282
You can't have opposing views.

108
00:08:57,314 --> 00:09:01,679
We to be careful, though, to not mistake this as talking about the final coming.

109
00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:07,104
Jesus lists natural and political upheaval during the time they were in.

110
00:09:07,345 --> 00:09:15,293
Verse 5, we read of false messiahs, for many will come in my name, saying, I am Christ,
and will deceive many.

111
00:09:16,435 --> 00:09:19,097
What does the word anti mean?

112
00:09:22,304 --> 00:09:23,314
against.

113
00:09:23,314 --> 00:09:29,496
So if we say an anti-Christ, that would be against Christ, would it not?

114
00:09:29,536 --> 00:09:35,378
Now he's saying that there are many false teachers that come in his name saying that I am
the Christ.

115
00:09:35,378 --> 00:09:40,219
Now if he is lying about being the Christ, is that against Christ?

116
00:09:40,519 --> 00:09:49,441
Okay, so here we have an example of many anti-Christ-s-s-s-s, as your father likes to
point out so many times.

117
00:09:50,422 --> 00:09:52,102
It's not just one.

118
00:09:52,206 --> 00:09:55,506
Verse 6 continues, and we see wars and rumors of wars.

119
00:09:55,506 --> 00:10:00,926
This would have been in reference to the Jewish revolts, Roman civil wars, so on and so
forth.

120
00:10:01,446 --> 00:10:03,566
Then he talks about famines.

121
00:10:04,766 --> 00:10:09,266
Acts 11 and verse 28 refers to a great famine under Claudius.

122
00:10:09,266 --> 00:10:13,726
So let's jump over to Acts 11, 28 and have someone read that.

123
00:10:14,226 --> 00:10:16,446
Acts 11 and verse 28.

124
00:10:25,614 --> 00:10:32,230
them names, a guy that stood up and showed by the spirit that there was going to be a
great family throughout all the world.

125
00:10:35,662 --> 00:10:38,224
So there's the famine under Claudiath.

126
00:10:38,224 --> 00:10:41,442
But what about the earthquakes that he talks about in verse 7?

127
00:10:41,888 --> 00:10:48,653
Can anyone think of an earthquake that hit around the time of 60 to 70 AD, shook the
world?

128
00:10:48,653 --> 00:10:51,015
We still learn about it in history books today.

129
00:10:52,737 --> 00:10:54,498
Vesuvius was one, yeah.

130
00:10:54,550 --> 00:11:02,694
Mount Vesuvius catastrophic earthquake hit Pompeii in AD of 62 severely damaging the city
killing many, people.

131
00:11:02,714 --> 00:11:07,696
This foreshadowed its final destruction in AD 79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted.

132
00:11:08,537 --> 00:11:09,317
Vesuvius.

133
00:11:09,317 --> 00:11:11,038
So here we have earthquakes.

134
00:11:11,374 --> 00:11:15,734
Now let's take a little sidestep and let's look at Pompeii from the time period.

135
00:11:15,734 --> 00:11:17,474
Let's look at the background of Pompeii.

136
00:11:17,474 --> 00:11:20,494
It was located near modern day Naples in Italy.

137
00:11:20,594 --> 00:11:22,694
Pompeii was a thriving Roman city.

138
00:11:22,694 --> 00:11:25,014
It would have been a trade route for many things.

139
00:11:25,014 --> 00:11:31,614
In AD 62 we have the mass of earthquakes struck, it's called widespread destruction, and
rebuilding efforts.

140
00:11:31,934 --> 00:11:41,358
Now if you have a city who is a network hub for delivering lots of goods in and out to
different countries and an earthquake wrecks that

141
00:11:41,358 --> 00:11:45,070
infrastructure, could that have something to do with famines?

142
00:11:45,590 --> 00:11:48,291
Could that have something to do with political upheaval?

143
00:11:49,292 --> 00:11:50,453
Of course it could.

144
00:11:50,453 --> 00:11:53,454
You're talking about a major infrastructure being destroyed.

145
00:11:53,454 --> 00:11:58,115
In AD 79, fast forwarding a little bit, Vesuvius erupted unexpectedly.

146
00:11:58,136 --> 00:12:07,320
It buried Pompeii and the nearby uh Herk- I can never pronounce this word, Herkinalium in
ash.

147
00:12:07,821 --> 00:12:10,242
These disasters reflected unrest.

148
00:12:10,486 --> 00:12:14,588
reflected natural instability in the region.

149
00:12:14,748 --> 00:12:17,189
And this was all leading up to Jerusalem's fall.

150
00:12:17,189 --> 00:12:19,690
This was stuff pre-Jerusalem's fall.

151
00:12:20,070 --> 00:12:21,888
So let's look at verse 13.

152
00:12:21,888 --> 00:12:26,133
It says that, shall endure until the end.

153
00:12:26,934 --> 00:12:28,904
What is the end here, contextually?

154
00:12:28,904 --> 00:12:35,217
If we look at the end, is he talking about the end, he will endure till the end of
judgment?

155
00:12:35,818 --> 00:12:37,198
No, of course not.

156
00:12:37,198 --> 00:12:45,817
we're looking at the context and historic, then it would be to the end of the siege at
Jerusalem when the armies were compassed about.

157
00:12:45,818 --> 00:12:49,338
Verse 14, the gospel was preached in all the world.

158
00:12:50,158 --> 00:12:52,438
This is the inhabited Roman world.

159
00:12:52,438 --> 00:12:57,578
Paul says that this already happened by his times and we read about that in Colossians
1.23.

160
00:12:57,578 --> 00:13:00,418
Let's have someone read Colossians 1.23.

161
00:13:19,282 --> 00:13:21,382
Alright.

162
00:13:24,014 --> 00:13:25,915
So we see this already happening.

163
00:13:26,776 --> 00:13:28,258
So what's the turning point?

164
00:13:28,258 --> 00:13:33,622
What does he mean about whenever he talks about the abomination of desolation?

165
00:13:34,043 --> 00:13:36,064
Two very large words.

166
00:13:36,505 --> 00:13:38,546
First off, what is an abomination?

167
00:13:41,388 --> 00:13:43,317
Just the definition of abomination.

168
00:13:45,454 --> 00:13:49,474
Something that shouldn't be, something messed up, broken.

169
00:13:49,734 --> 00:13:50,814
Okay, what is desolation?

170
00:13:50,814 --> 00:13:52,394
That's an easier one.

171
00:13:53,493 --> 00:13:58,954
Destroyed, completely, Desolation is barren landscape, nothing left.

172
00:13:58,954 --> 00:14:00,974
Completely and utterly destroyed.

173
00:14:01,634 --> 00:14:06,554
All right, so let's look and see what the abomination of desolation is.

174
00:14:06,554 --> 00:14:10,434
And we're gonna do that from Matthew 15 to 22.

175
00:14:11,434 --> 00:14:12,534
Therefore,

176
00:14:12,578 --> 00:14:21,842
When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, that's an
important part, keep your finger on it, we're gonna come back to that.

177
00:14:21,902 --> 00:14:26,244
Standing in the holy place, whoever reads, let him understand.

178
00:14:26,784 --> 00:14:30,266
Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

179
00:14:30,410 --> 00:14:34,693
Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.

180
00:14:34,693 --> 00:14:38,135
Don't turn around, don't grab anything, he's telling them.

181
00:14:38,216 --> 00:14:48,313
Let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes, but woe unto those who are
pregnant and those who are nursing babies in those days, and pray that your flight may not

182
00:14:48,313 --> 00:14:50,904
be in winter or on the Sabbath.

183
00:14:50,985 --> 00:14:58,189
We notice that he's not telling them of the exact time, but he's also saying, don't turn
around, be ready to flee.

184
00:14:58,722 --> 00:15:00,843
For then there will be great tribulation.

185
00:15:00,843 --> 00:15:09,148
Such has not been seen since the beginning of the world until this time, nor shall ever
be.

186
00:15:09,269 --> 00:15:12,631
And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved.

187
00:15:12,631 --> 00:15:16,673
But for the elect's sake, those days will be more shortened.

188
00:15:20,782 --> 00:15:26,842
In verse 15, Jesus refers to Daniel, the abomination of desolation.

189
00:15:27,562 --> 00:15:32,122
Let's take a look at Daniel chapter 9, verses 26 through 27.

190
00:15:32,122 --> 00:15:34,302
We'll have someone read from there next.

191
00:15:36,302 --> 00:15:39,742
Daniel 9, 26 through 27.

192
00:15:48,110 --> 00:15:48,966
We're

193
00:15:56,302 --> 00:16:01,682
After the sixty-two sevens, the anointed one will be cut off and will have nothing.

194
00:16:01,682 --> 00:16:05,642
The people of the ruler will come and destroy the city and the sanctuary.

195
00:16:05,782 --> 00:16:07,762
The end will come like a flood.

196
00:16:07,762 --> 00:16:10,382
War will continue until the end.

197
00:16:10,382 --> 00:16:12,642
And desolations have been agreed.

198
00:16:12,962 --> 00:16:22,702
He will confirm a covenant with many for one sep- in the middle of the sep- and he will
put an end to sacrifices and offering.

199
00:16:22,802 --> 00:16:23,958
And on the wing of-

200
00:16:23,958 --> 00:16:32,472
he will set up an abomination that causes desolation until the end that is decreed is
pulling out.

201
00:16:32,981 --> 00:16:40,021
Alright, so the abomination of desolation was a signal of defilement and destruction,
wasn't it?

202
00:16:40,021 --> 00:16:46,441
Originally by Antiochus epiphanies, but now applied to Rome's actions as we read in
Matthew.

203
00:16:46,501 --> 00:16:49,661
Luke 21 and verse 20 clarifies the meaning.

204
00:16:49,661 --> 00:16:51,361
Let's go ahead and get someone to read that.

205
00:16:51,361 --> 00:16:53,901
Luke 21 and verse 20.

206
00:17:06,549 --> 00:17:07,296
with

207
00:17:11,022 --> 00:17:14,848
when is the desolation nigh?

208
00:17:14,848 --> 00:17:17,310
When armies are surrounding Jerusalem?

209
00:17:17,731 --> 00:17:21,054
Man, that doesn't sound like the end of the world, does it?

210
00:17:21,836 --> 00:17:22,727
Sounds like a war.

211
00:17:22,727 --> 00:17:24,779
All right, let's continue.

212
00:17:24,779 --> 00:17:29,905
When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then ye shall know the desolation
thereof is nigh.

213
00:17:30,397 --> 00:17:34,999
Now we need to take a minute, we need to step back and we need to talk about some rulers
of the time period.

214
00:17:34,999 --> 00:17:39,281
We're gonna talk a little bit about Vespasian and a little bit about a man named Titus.

215
00:17:39,281 --> 00:17:48,645
Vespasian was a Roman general sent by Nero to crush the Jewish revolt between AD 66 and AD
70, somewhere around that time.

216
00:17:48,846 --> 00:17:54,788
He began a methodical campaign in Galilee in Judea, leaving his son Titus to finish the
job.

217
00:17:54,788 --> 00:17:59,590
He had started the campaign, but ultimately didn't finish it, so he left it to Titus.

218
00:18:00,311 --> 00:18:02,892
In Nero died.

219
00:18:02,892 --> 00:18:06,713
Vespasian returned to Rome and eventually became the known emperor.

220
00:18:06,753 --> 00:18:12,751
Titus, now commanding, ended up besieging Jerusalem in 1870.

221
00:18:14,156 --> 00:18:20,478
I wonder what surrounded the city when Titus commanded to attack Jerusalem.

222
00:18:20,478 --> 00:18:21,618
Any guesses?

223
00:18:23,219 --> 00:18:25,360
Armies, that's right.

224
00:18:26,900 --> 00:18:28,861
Roman armies surrounded the city.

225
00:18:29,353 --> 00:18:31,974
Did this fulfill Jesus's warning at the time?

226
00:18:32,895 --> 00:18:34,496
Yes, of course it did.

227
00:18:34,516 --> 00:18:41,720
They burned the temple, they utterly destroyed the city, and they enslaved or killed over
one million Jews.

228
00:18:42,761 --> 00:18:50,805
Tacitus, a Roman historian, and Josephus, a Jewish eyewitness, both confirmed the events.

229
00:18:51,026 --> 00:18:57,269
So we have historical proof not only from Roman writings, but from eyewitness accounts and
Roman historians.

230
00:18:59,367 --> 00:19:05,660
Roman standards were planted on the Temple grounds after the attack.

231
00:19:05,761 --> 00:19:13,365
Eagle banners with imperial emblems you'd see sitting on the flat earth that was destroyed
in Jerusalem.

232
00:19:13,926 --> 00:19:19,389
It's almost like one final blasphemous desecration of the grounds of the Temple.

233
00:19:21,077 --> 00:19:22,037
But let's read on.

234
00:19:22,037 --> 00:19:24,117
Let's go on to verse 16.

235
00:19:24,697 --> 00:19:28,177
Someone read verse 16 of Matthew 24.

236
00:19:31,093 --> 00:19:33,993
then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

237
00:19:33,993 --> 00:19:34,993
Let them what?

238
00:19:34,993 --> 00:19:35,773
Flee to the mountains.

239
00:19:35,773 --> 00:19:37,373
Flee to the mountains?

240
00:19:37,613 --> 00:19:42,853
Can we run from the final judgment on the end of the world by fleeing to the mountains?

241
00:19:43,673 --> 00:19:44,613
No.

242
00:19:44,813 --> 00:19:47,193
No one is going to escape this.

243
00:19:48,233 --> 00:19:50,533
Let them in Judea flee.

244
00:19:50,813 --> 00:19:57,873
I don't know about you, but this seems like a clear command with a very clear geographical
scope, doesn't it?

245
00:19:57,875 --> 00:20:00,728
You have the mountains and you have not the mountains.

246
00:20:00,728 --> 00:20:05,252
Those who heeded Jesus's warning would escape the destruction.

247
00:20:06,895 --> 00:20:10,798
So continuing on with Josephus, I know I'm bouncing back and forth here.

248
00:20:10,899 --> 00:20:16,944
Titus Josephus, a Jewish priest, general and historian who lived during the first century.

249
00:20:17,075 --> 00:20:22,528
He initially fought against the Romans, but later surrendered and cooperated with
Vespasian and Titus.

250
00:20:22,528 --> 00:20:25,210
This is someone who was there.

251
00:20:25,310 --> 00:20:37,157
His work, The Jewish War, written in 8075, provides us with a detailed, and note this,
first-hand account of Jerusalem's destruction.

252
00:20:37,497 --> 00:20:41,139
He recorded the siege and starvation inside of the city.

253
00:20:41,260 --> 00:20:43,881
He recorded the destruction of the temple.

254
00:20:43,997 --> 00:20:48,719
And he even recorded that Christians fled to Pella before the siege began.

255
00:20:48,860 --> 00:20:53,182
This would have been a city up in the mountains, likely due to Jesus' prophecy.

256
00:20:54,143 --> 00:21:00,726
He called the event the most catastrophic destruction of a city in human history up to
that point.

257
00:21:01,247 --> 00:21:05,429
Now, can we take an eyewitness's account for it that what's written here is true?

258
00:21:06,530 --> 00:21:07,830
We do, don't we?

259
00:21:08,631 --> 00:21:09,771
We should.

260
00:21:10,712 --> 00:21:12,993
Many people will argue the fact that

261
00:21:13,841 --> 00:21:27,530
maybe his eyewitness testimony wasn't true or something of that nature, but how so readily
are we uh willing to admit that the presidents signed the Declaration of Independence?

262
00:21:28,632 --> 00:21:31,113
We have the one sheet of paper, right?

263
00:21:31,154 --> 00:21:33,335
We have eyewitness accounts that it happened.

264
00:21:33,335 --> 00:21:41,721
We're so ready to accept things like that, but then when it comes to Bible history, so
many times people gloss over and say, well, that can't be right.

265
00:21:44,093 --> 00:21:51,813
Next we're going look at the time frame, specifically the words, this generation that we
read from verse 23 through 35.

266
00:21:52,016 --> 00:21:57,253
So now we're going to read Matthew chapter 24, verses 23 through 25.

267
00:21:59,118 --> 00:22:06,621
Then if anyone says to you, look, here's the Christ, or there, do not believe it.

268
00:22:06,621 --> 00:22:15,065
For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to
deceive, if possible, even the elect.

269
00:22:15,065 --> 00:22:17,206
See, I have told you beforehand.

270
00:22:17,206 --> 00:22:24,710
Therefore, if they say to you, look, he is in the desert, do not go out, or look, he's in
the inner rooms, do not believe it.

271
00:22:24,710 --> 00:22:32,673
For as the lightning comes from the sea from the east and flashes to the west, so also
will the coming of Son of Man be.

272
00:22:32,673 --> 00:22:36,535
For wherever the carcass is, there the equals will be

273
00:22:36,535 --> 00:22:37,357
together.

274
00:22:41,332 --> 00:22:43,543
let me see, hold on, I've lost my place here.

275
00:22:46,985 --> 00:22:53,148
Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be dark, darkened, and the
moon will not give its light.

276
00:22:53,149 --> 00:22:56,911
The stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

277
00:22:56,911 --> 00:23:05,355
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of earth
will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and

278
00:23:05,355 --> 00:23:06,656
great glory.

279
00:23:06,656 --> 00:23:15,280
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together
His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

280
00:23:15,857 --> 00:23:18,118
Now learn this parable from the fig tree.

281
00:23:18,118 --> 00:23:23,521
When its branches already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is
near.

282
00:23:23,542 --> 00:23:28,885
So also when you see all these things, know that it is near at the doors.

283
00:23:28,925 --> 00:23:37,310
Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things
take place.

284
00:23:37,310 --> 00:23:41,993
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

285
00:23:43,253 --> 00:23:49,613
Verses 27 through verse 30 uses a very Old Testament apocalyptic language.

286
00:23:49,833 --> 00:23:53,233
Now who here knows the definition of apocalyptic?

287
00:23:54,113 --> 00:23:58,233
It's not talking about end of the world, Armageddon.

288
00:23:58,313 --> 00:24:01,893
Apocalyptic would be a hidden language, something in code.

289
00:24:02,013 --> 00:24:07,153
It's something that they could readily write down, pass around, and the Roman armies
wouldn't be able to quite decipher it.

290
00:24:07,153 --> 00:24:08,953
They'd go, what are they talking about?

291
00:24:09,813 --> 00:24:14,033
The sun darken and the star falls, son of man coming.

292
00:24:14,033 --> 00:24:16,213
These are different phrases that we read.

293
00:24:16,793 --> 00:24:21,913
Let's compare those for just a moment to Isaiah chapter 13 and verse 10.

294
00:24:21,993 --> 00:24:24,033
If someone would read that.

295
00:24:24,033 --> 00:24:26,313
Isaiah 13 and verse 10.

296
00:24:37,557 --> 00:24:40,957
Wow, so it's happened twice already, right?

297
00:24:40,957 --> 00:24:44,657
The sun literally darkened, the stars fell, the sun a man come...

298
00:24:44,657 --> 00:24:45,777
okay.

299
00:24:45,817 --> 00:24:51,037
Let's try Ezekiel 32 and we'll read verses 7 through 8.

300
00:24:51,077 --> 00:24:55,637
Ezekiel chapter 32, verses 7 and 8.

301
00:25:11,549 --> 00:25:25,207
Ezekiel 32 7 through 8 When I snub you out I will cover the heavens and darken the stars I
will cover the sun with clouds and the moon will not give its light All the shining lights

302
00:25:25,207 --> 00:25:33,181
in the heavens I will darken over you I will bring darkness over your land declares the
sovereign lord So three times, right?

303
00:25:33,181 --> 00:25:33,962
Three times!

304
00:25:33,962 --> 00:25:34,802
end has come.

305
00:25:34,802 --> 00:25:36,103
Judgment day.

306
00:25:36,383 --> 00:25:37,844
No, of course not.

307
00:25:38,664 --> 00:25:40,125
This is symbolic.

308
00:25:40,595 --> 00:25:46,307
This is symbolic talk for national judgment and God's providential visitation.

309
00:25:48,595 --> 00:25:51,347
What about the phrase, coming of the Son of Man?

310
00:25:51,668 --> 00:25:57,972
Here refers to Christ's coming in judgment as in Isaiah 19, one, the Lord rides upon a
swift cloud.

311
00:25:58,814 --> 00:26:00,955
But let's jump to verse 34 of Matthew 24.

312
00:26:00,955 --> 00:26:08,261
Here's the key phrase, this generation shall not pass away.

313
00:26:09,783 --> 00:26:15,527
Would this indicate a clear, very well defined first century fulfillment of the word?

314
00:26:16,448 --> 00:26:17,799
Yeah, absolutely.

315
00:26:17,799 --> 00:26:23,380
If that generation weren't to pass away until all that thing, do we have people living
that are over a thousand years old today?

316
00:26:23,823 --> 00:26:25,626
No, of course we don't.

317
00:26:25,626 --> 00:26:27,028
Nobody lives that long.

318
00:26:29,673 --> 00:26:32,094
He shows us that this happened in the first century.

319
00:26:32,094 --> 00:26:33,654
It's been fulfilled.

320
00:26:33,654 --> 00:26:37,296
A generation typically would be about 40 years during that time.

321
00:26:37,296 --> 00:26:41,777
Jesus spoke around AD 30 to 33, and Jerusalem fell in AD 70.

322
00:26:41,777 --> 00:26:44,538
It's about a generation.

323
00:26:45,278 --> 00:26:51,900
If this were from the end of the world, people from that generation would absolutely have
to be alive today, wouldn't they?

324
00:26:52,521 --> 00:26:53,401
That's...

325
00:26:53,621 --> 00:26:56,081
That's nipping it right in the bud That's putting a pin in it.

326
00:26:56,081 --> 00:27:06,941
If people say that Matthew chapter 24 is about the end of judgment and the end of time and
God's coming to judge us all, this one right here, put a pin in it.

327
00:27:06,941 --> 00:27:08,621
This generation will not pass.

328
00:27:08,621 --> 00:27:11,141
How old do you think people are?

329
00:27:11,561 --> 00:27:13,241
It's common sense.

330
00:27:13,681 --> 00:27:16,441
This is why interpretation matters.

331
00:27:16,787 --> 00:27:25,904
This is why we need to know what we're reading, what we're studying, and to take a deep
dive into these scriptures and really look at not only the biblical context, but also the

332
00:27:25,904 --> 00:27:27,586
historical context as well.

333
00:27:27,586 --> 00:27:28,966
Who was talking?

334
00:27:29,047 --> 00:27:30,767
Who was he talking to?

335
00:27:32,249 --> 00:27:33,590
When was it said?

336
00:27:33,710 --> 00:27:37,393
What was the political and geopolitical areas at the time?

337
00:27:38,869 --> 00:27:46,429
Premillennial doctrines twist Matthew chapter 24 to talk about some future, far-off
seven-year tribulation.

338
00:27:46,429 --> 00:27:54,529
They teach about the rise of an antichrist, but here we read of many antichrists, plural,
right?

339
00:27:54,529 --> 00:27:58,389
That would be anyone who is antichrist, against Christ.

340
00:27:58,909 --> 00:28:01,569
It also talks about a rapture of a saint.

341
00:28:02,109 --> 00:28:07,269
But Jesus told his believers in Judea to flee.

342
00:28:08,457 --> 00:28:10,037
Does anyone else find that odd?

343
00:28:10,659 --> 00:28:13,441
Where would you flee to at the final judgment day?

344
00:28:13,441 --> 00:28:16,303
If this is supposed to be the end of the world, where are we supposed to go?

345
00:28:16,303 --> 00:28:18,524
Can we run to the mountains and get away from it?

346
00:28:18,684 --> 00:28:24,588
God will pick up 90 % of the population, whoever's not in the mountains, and leave the
rest here to live on earth forever.

347
00:28:24,789 --> 00:28:26,189
It's not how that works.

348
00:28:26,189 --> 00:28:29,912
In the final judgment, there is absolutely nowhere you can run.

349
00:28:30,513 --> 00:28:32,054
God is all powerful.

350
00:28:32,054 --> 00:28:33,735
God is all knowing, isn't he?

351
00:28:33,735 --> 00:28:35,516
And he's also omnipresent.

352
00:28:35,516 --> 00:28:36,497
He's all present.

353
00:28:36,497 --> 00:28:37,449
m

354
00:28:37,449 --> 00:28:44,171
The destruction here involves a specific city, specific armies, and specific timing.

355
00:28:44,211 --> 00:28:49,252
The abomination of desolation already occurred when Rome desecrated the temple.

356
00:28:50,393 --> 00:28:57,335
The abomination of desolation is absolutely turning it over to where there was not one
stone put upon the other.

357
00:28:58,135 --> 00:29:01,476
In addition, this generation has long since passed.

358
00:29:02,316 --> 00:29:05,637
No one from this time period of the first century is alive today.

359
00:29:06,397 --> 00:29:10,135
And it's absolutely dishonest to stretch that into modern times, isn't it?

360
00:29:12,307 --> 00:29:21,725
This chapter is about the end of the Jewish system, not the end of the planet, not the end
of the world, not the end of the galaxy, not the end of the universe.

361
00:29:21,725 --> 00:29:31,757
The final judgment is addressed clearly in Matthew chapter 25, which features several
things that contrast with Matthew chapter 24.

362
00:29:31,757 --> 00:29:39,740
In Matthew chapter 25, it's going to show no signs to flee from, a universal judgment
scene,

363
00:29:39,983 --> 00:29:45,010
and eternal consequences, not just the death of the body here on Earth.

364
00:29:47,701 --> 00:29:54,941
Matthew chapter 24 verses 1 through 35 shows the faithfulness of Jesus's words, doesn't
it?

365
00:29:55,121 --> 00:30:03,261
Everything Christ said was faithful, but when he told them that this was going to happen
before it happened, it happened exactly the way he said it would happen, didn't he?

366
00:30:03,521 --> 00:30:09,681
So many times we have the adage, and I've heard it said many times, when God says
something, that settles it, right?

367
00:30:09,741 --> 00:30:11,901
That's the same thing when Christ says it.

368
00:30:11,921 --> 00:30:15,401
It warns us that God keeps His promises.

369
00:30:15,481 --> 00:30:17,513
He promises to protect us.

370
00:30:17,513 --> 00:30:24,556
He promises to love us, so much so that he sent his son to die on a cross so that we can
have remission of our sins.

371
00:30:25,817 --> 00:30:29,118
He promises to give us a crown and a home in glory with him.

372
00:30:30,253 --> 00:30:31,639
I have a mansion with many rooms.

373
00:30:31,639 --> 00:30:33,940
If it were not so, I would tell you.

374
00:30:34,381 --> 00:30:37,702
My kingdom is not of this world, he says.

375
00:30:38,022 --> 00:30:43,584
He makes a lot of grand promises, and that's something that we can have hope in, something
we don't have to be afraid of.

376
00:30:43,985 --> 00:30:44,825
Yes.

377
00:30:52,079 --> 00:31:00,852
And what Rome did, God's power and the wrath that is going to happen.

378
00:31:00,885 --> 00:31:03,986
It's just a small glimpse shown in the instruction of Jerusalem.

379
00:31:03,986 --> 00:31:04,607
Correct.

380
00:31:04,607 --> 00:31:12,691
But another beautiful thing about that, what you're discussing right now is God is saving
us from that wrath.

381
00:31:12,691 --> 00:31:15,672
Yes, God is absolutely saving us from that wrath.

382
00:31:15,672 --> 00:31:20,614
And I love that you jumped right into my next point, is because it also includes those of
judgment.

383
00:31:20,614 --> 00:31:22,875
He has promises of judgment, doesn't he?

384
00:31:22,995 --> 00:31:25,516
He doesn't get to just stave off forever.

385
00:31:25,597 --> 00:31:28,558
He always puts a time limit on these things, doesn't he?

386
00:31:28,698 --> 00:31:30,499
Our God is long-suffering.

387
00:31:30,939 --> 00:31:33,280
with us right now on this planet.

388
00:31:34,181 --> 00:31:39,803
Didn't Christ say that He wills that none should perish, but that all should come unto Him
for eternal life?

389
00:31:40,239 --> 00:31:43,364
I'm paraphrasing, but of course He did.

390
00:31:43,925 --> 00:31:46,706
But He does, just like Bohannon said.

391
00:31:46,726 --> 00:31:50,247
It promises judgment and a terrifying judgment.

392
00:31:50,328 --> 00:31:53,449
We read earlier the woes

393
00:31:55,643 --> 00:32:00,034
Woe to those who are pregnant and those who are nursing babies in those days.

394
00:32:00,034 --> 00:32:07,916
Can you imagine being pregnant with a child and not fleeing to the mountains like you were
supposed to and incurring the wrath of the Roman army?

395
00:32:08,257 --> 00:32:12,618
Tearing down your city and the temple where you worship every stone?

396
00:32:13,858 --> 00:32:15,499
Look around the building here.

397
00:32:16,093 --> 00:32:18,400
This isn't a super grand building at all.

398
00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:23,281
But what if an army surrounded it, kept us from our food and our water, we couldn't leave?

399
00:32:23,453 --> 00:32:32,519
and then came in and broke it down to the very foundation, not a single stone on top of
one another, taking some of us as slaves and killing others.

400
00:32:33,540 --> 00:32:40,445
It's kind of hard to sit here and think about it in terms of us, but that's exactly what
happened to the people in Jerusalem.

401
00:32:41,846 --> 00:32:44,688
Sometimes it's hard for us to put ourselves in their shoes.

402
00:32:45,229 --> 00:32:51,873
God promises, and God always keeps His promises, including those of judgment.

403
00:32:52,125 --> 00:32:58,795
Just as Jerusalem faced judgment, that also means that we too must prepare for our own
eternal accountability.

404
00:33:02,035 --> 00:33:07,008
Let's be sure not to misinterpret scripture out of fear of confusion.

405
00:33:07,028 --> 00:33:11,110
I think we should always study to show ourselves approved.

406
00:33:11,170 --> 00:33:18,254
A workman needeth not be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth that is rightly
measuring ourselves up against what God has written.

407
00:33:18,434 --> 00:33:21,676
But we need to teach with truth and clarity.

408
00:33:21,676 --> 00:33:30,021
And I hope that going through as much of Matthew chapter 24 as we've done this evening has
helped with that.

409
00:33:30,377 --> 00:33:38,287
Does anyone have any other uh questions, comments, concerns, philosophical meanderings?

410
00:33:40,050 --> 00:33:40,731
All right.

411
00:33:40,731 --> 00:33:47,051
Then I know it's a little early, but we'll go ahead and dismiss and get ready for the
devotional.